Our Te reo Māori Connection

The great Polynesian navigator, Kupe, journeyed across Te Moana nui a Kiwa (the great Pacific ocean) from Hawaiki to what we today call New Zealand. Kupe’s wife, Kuramārōtini gave this whenua, this place its first name when she uttered the words He Ao Tea Roa – It is a Land of the long white cloud. And so fast forward 1,000 years or so and here we are with our  name, Conradh na Gaeilge Aotearoa.

There are many commonalities to be found between Māori and Irish culture – most notably the impact on our respective languages because of colonisation. Today both Māori and Irish are official languages in the lands they came from, but the dominant language in both places is English. Still, the connection our indigenous languages give us to our ancient and living culture is clear.

Conradh na Gaeilge Aotearoa is committed to upholding the mana of te reo Māori in the promotion of the Irish language in Aotearoa New Zealand. For us this means making sure we are trying our best to pronounce kupu Māori correctly, using Māori placenames when we are ag caint as Gaeilge and always making an effort to improve our te reo Māori as we continue to improve, reclaim or discover our teanga Gaeilge.

Tir gan teanga, tir gan anam

A country without a language is a country without its soul

Ko te whenua kore reo, he whenua kore mauri.